Oct 18, 2012

I'm feeling a bit under the weather this week. It seems I caught a cold from my toddler who just entered Pre-K. Along with her projects, crafts, and books, she's been taking home a new cold each week (lucky me!)

Right now hot tea and soup are on the menu. I thought I would make something from the archives that I haven't made in a while, something with lots of vitamins and antioxidants to help me kick this cold.

So I made this soup, which really hit the spot. It's a meal in a bowl and kale is one of the healthiest vegetables around, high in vitamins K, A and C with both antioxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits.

This soup will taste as good as the sausage you purchase, so be sure to find an Italian turkey or chicken sausage that you like, either would work. If you want this a little spicy, you can certainly use a hot sausage instead. Vegetarians could swap the sausage for soyrizo and vegetable broth.

Add broth, water and black pepper, bring to a boil and cook 5 minutes. Add cooked sausage, potatoes, red pepper flakes and bring back to a simmer. Cook covered for about 4 minutes. Add kale and bring back to a simmer. Cook partially covered until the potatoes and kale are cooked, about 5-6 minutes. Adjust salt if needed.

Just tried this coup today. It was delicious and packed full of good veggies! I didn't have turkey sausage on hand so I used what I had...Italian pork sausage. Increased the points a bit I'm sure but still wonderful.

this was great. I only made one change... I added half the potatoes in with the carrots to cook and then BEFORE i put the rest of potatoes and sausage in I used my immersion stick blender to cream it up a bit. Tastes A LOT like zuppa toscano from Olive Garden.

I discovered this website a few months ago as a newlywed looking for ideas, and I have to tell you that you have been a lifesaver for many meals, as well as for my figure! When I make one of your recipes, I know that it will be tasty enough for my husband to ask me to make it again, while somehow also low enough in calories to keep us both trim and healthy! I'll be sure to try this one soon - it looks delicious! Thank you for all of your hard work!

Great recipe Gina! Love your use of potato with kale - that balances out some of the bitterness for me!

To simplify the cooking even further I would use Aidells Pre-Cooked Sausage - you can find them in almost any grocery store & the different flavors they offer could add some unexpected spice to this dish :)

Gina-Ive never, ever cooked or baked before Labor Day of this year when I joined weight watchers to loose 20 LBS and came across this blog! Your receipes are AMAZING you are just the best.... and Im torn should you be a cook or a photographer-your are outstanding at BOTH!!!! thank you so much for the inspiration!!!!! please keep bringing it everyday like you do-its always so exciting to see what you cook everyday:)

this is awesome... the only thing I would add would be a couple of cans of low sodium diced tomatoes. just another way of getting in the nutrients. (I'm from New England, so we're used to a red broth for kale soup) :)

This is the first time I have tasted kale...not bad..made this soup for tonights dinner...it was delicious............thank youNow i am going to search for another kale recipe so i can finish the rest of it....again thankyou

I was just out for dinner at a portugese restaurant and had their caldo verde soup and this totally reminds me of that. I loved it and cant wait to try this version! I may swap some potatoes for parsnips and puree it to add a bit of richness. What do you think?

I was looking for a soup recipe to make for dinner tonight and came across this one. I always look to your website first so I was so happy to see this on the first page. Another winner! I cannot say how much my family and I thank you for your hard work Gina! Your recipes are fantastic!

I made the soup last night with sweet chicken Italian sausage and it turned out great. My husband and son were both skeptical about eating something with so much "green" in it; but they loved it and so did I.

I made this soup last night using the JennieO Hot Italian Turkey Sausage & sweet potatoes instead of white potatoes. Delicious!! And I love that it made enough for me to portion it out and put the extra in my deep freezer for work days when I having nothing healthy to bring for lunch! Supposed to get cold in Michigan this weekend (30's), so this soup is right on time!

Just finished making this soup. I used ground Italian turkey sausage, available at my local natural food store. I was pleasantly surprised to find already washed and shredded kale at the same store, big time saver! Soup is deliciously spicy & hearty. Thanks!

Gina, the first time I made this soup my daughter who is 9 said that it was better than my Grandma's recipe for Homemade Chicken and Dumplings which is her all time favorite dish I make. My 3 year old son devoured it then asked me for the next 4 days if I was making this soup for dinner again and didn't understand that we couldn't eat it every day. I make your recipes all the time and every single one of them are hits at my house and I tell everyone I know about your blog. Every week when I am preparing my weekly menu and grocery list I come here first for ideas. Thank you for making it so easy to prepare healthier options for my family that tastes so amazingly good.

This soup is delicious! My dear friend used this recipe to make a couple batches of soup for my family. We just lost my Mom and this soup has been a huge comfort to our family during our time of immeasurable loss! Thanks so much for this recipe!

I tried this recipe last night and it was amazing! My first time using kale and now I'm looking for more soup recipes that use kale! I used more pepper and red pepper flakes becsue I like spicy, but other than that I made the recipe exactly as written. Thanks Gina!

I love love love this soup! Yesterday I tried it with a cup of lentils instead of potato, and spinach instead of kale (it was all I had on hand). It came out so good! I made enough to last me all week!

OMG!! This is so YUMMY!! I used ground turkey instead of turkey sausage, added celery, and cooked it all in the same pot...doubled the recipe thinking I could freeze some but hubby and 15 year old son ate it all =)

I made this past weekend because my daughter and I was also sick. She couldnt get enough of this soup. I was certain that she would start picking out the kale but NOPE, she loved it. I had no leftovers..Thank you!!!

Made this soup. It was good, but I did not like the turkey sausage. Maybe it was the kind I used that made the whole dish just taste like sausage. I did love the kale taste. I think I will make this dish again with out any meat next time and maybe add a little bit more potatoes. I bet it would be so delicious!

This is one of the most delicious soups I've ever tried, and is my new favorite! My daughter invited me over to try it last night - lucky me! She used a chicken Italian sausage but didn't change anything else. I just finished a leftover bowl and must say its even better the next day! We are having a soup cookoff at work this week - I think I just found my entry!

Wow! This soup is fantastic! I happened to have homemade chicken broth on hand, which made it even better. I added some more carrots but other than that stuck right to the recipe. A new favorite and making me a little sad that warmer weather is headed our way - luckily we still have snow on the ground from a late spring storm so it was a perfect dinner. Thanks so much :)

Made this today and just had a bowl for lunch. I used sweet potato rather than red and I also tossed in some baby bella mushrooms. It totally ROCKS!! Thanks so much for this recipe. I know I'll be adding this to the soups I make all the time!

Made this last night for my husband and brother in law, they kept asking what the "green leaf" was, lol! They loved the soup and even had two bowls each! The best compliment I can give you Gina is they told me to make it again for them this fall! If they want it again that is the biggest compliment I receive! I will say they tell me that about almost anything that I make that comes from your website! Keep up the great work, it has helped me accomplish my weight loss goal and maintain for nearly 2 years with a loss of 80 pounds! If it tastes like diet food I don't eat it, I use your recipes at least 5 days a week! It has transformed my cooking philosophy, thank you!

I made this last night and it was FANTASTIC! My husband is usually wary of soup for dinner because he assumes he'll be hungry after, but this soup was delicious and satisfying. Best part? It made enough for leftovers to bring to work today AND extra to share with a friend tomorrow for lunch! Great recipe.

This was fantastic! I was in the mood for a creamy soup, so I replaced the water with fat free half n' half and was very happy with the result. And somehow I ended up with at least 8 servings. Thanks for all of the great recipes!

Yum! Made this last night at it was amazing! I used roasted red pepper and garlic chicken sausage and added a dash or two of cayenne for a bit of extra spice. My BF absolutely refuses to eat kale so I cooked everything else, took out a bowl for him, then added the kale for me. He said he still enjoyed it, but does anyone have any suggestions for a substitute? The soup doesn't look nearly as appealing without out the kale.

This is so flippin' good. I just have to say I absolutely adore your blog and use all of these recipes to help me with my new healthier lifestyle. Thank you so much for putting nutrition info!!! I veered away from your EXACT recipe this time and used spicy sausage and it was DELISHH!!! So seriously, thank you! I also wanted you to know I shared some of your recipes (and praised you) on my blog today!

Love this soup. I think this tastes a lot like Olive Garden Tuscan soup. I sometimes leave out the carrots when my produce is low. Still very good omitting carrots. I also sometimes add red pepper flakes for a little kick. This has become a regular in my meal planning. Nothing better on a cold day

This is the third time I've made this soup and I took a tip from a previous poster who added a can of diced tomatoes…SUPER YUM! This is the perfect soup for a chilly day and it tastes better on day 2. I use sweet italian chicken sausage by Al Fresco. YUM!

I just made this soup for two reasons - I was looking for something new and healthy and also I love to have different soups in the winter. It is so delicious and hearty. I used chicken sausage and also added pumpkin (because I had it in my fridge and wanted to use it up). I have made several recipes from this site and have not been disappointed.